


again

by roosebolton



Category: Andrew Hozier-Byrne (Musician)
Genre: Lowercase, M/M, Piano, RPF, Romantic Gestures, Teaching, Tenderness, Touching, don't ask me why sometimes it just comes out that way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:54:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23718532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roosebolton/pseuds/roosebolton
Summary: Andrew and Alex play the piano side by side.
Relationships: Andrew Hozier-Byrne/Alex Ryan (Hozier)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 23





	again

they sat side by side on the piano bench, and Alex was explaining the melody he'd constructed. he played it twice, with Andrew watching him, and then Andrew tried to follow along, stumbling a few times, missing a couple of keys.

"ah, I don't think I've got it yet," he said, returning his hands to the starting position.

"here, let me play it slower." this time, Andrew had an easier time of it, though his timing wasn't perfect. "much better, it'll come with practice, you only heard me play it a couple of times."

"and that's just the right hand, yeah?"

"right. I mean, yeah, correct. once you get that part down a little faster I'll show you the left."

"I'm really not very good at this," Andrew said, chuckling. "but I'll do my best."

"nah, nonsense, you're fine for someone who's basically self taught. as long as you get the sounds out. true, you don't have the technique for classical piano, but you aren't meant to. this is for fun, and the sound is more important than the technique here. you know?"

"sure, but you have both."

"and that's why I'm a Trinity scholar." Alex grinned.

Andrew nudged Alex with a shoulder. "I'd like to do better, though."

"I'm not a very good teacher. I mean, I learn better than I teach."

"and I'm not a very good student, as you probably already know. but I'd like to try."

"all right. play it along with me again, slowly."

they played it together, and Alex watched Andrew's hand move over the keys, stumbling a few times. when they were finished he scooted closer to Andrew on the bench, wrapping his left arm around Andrew's waist. 

"here, watch me." he played his melody again, in a lower octave, closer to where Andrew had been playing. "you have the dexterity, but your fingering needs work."

a pause, and Andrew glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

"... anyway. you don't have to do it exactly the same way I do, because our hands aren't the same shape or length, but you sometimes have a hard time when you have to move your hands up to the next octave, or going from your last finger back to your thumb. it's not always easy, but you can get more fluid with practice. honestly, you could probably do it better than me, since your fingers are so long."

Andrew took a deep breath and nodded. 

"here, let me see if this helps." Alex laid his hand over Andrew's. "I'll guide your hand, like this. play it again."

"like a dance," said Andrew, quietly.

"like a dance, yeah. like our hands are ballroom dancing, and I'm taking the lead."

"not very good at dancing, either, I'm afraid," Andrew said with a smile.

"we can practise that later, if you like," Alex replied, without looking at him, "but for now, just follow me." Alex played his melody again, using Andrew's hand to make the sounds, patiently moving Andrew's fingers with his own whenever he stumbled. "see? it's like this."

"ah, I think I'm getting it."

"you are, you're just not confident yet." Alex rested his hand on Andrew's wrist. "now, you try it."

Andrew played it again, and Alex only had to guide his fingers once. 

Alex gently rubbed his thumb against Andrew's wrist for a split second before pausing there. "again."

this time, he played it perfectly, if a little slower than Alex had originally intended it to be played.

"see, man, you've got it."

"ah, well, I have a good teacher."

"bullshit, I know I'm a terrible teacher, but I'm also the only one you've got."

"I don't trust anyone else to teach me like this, anyway."

"probably wise." Alex patted him on the back. "ready to learn the left hand? it's easier, I promise."

Andrew switched positions, placing his left hand on the piano keys and wrapping his right arm around Alex's waist, a mirror image. 

"show me."

he picked it up more quickly than the right hand, though he still needed Alex's help a few times, and before long he was playing it faster, too, his fingers dancing over the piano keys almost as effortlessly as Alex's.

"now," said Alex, with a sly grin, "are you ready to play together properly?"

"sure. what would you have me do, O teacher mine?"

Alex rolled his eyes.

"here, you play the left hand, just as you've been doing, and I'll play the melody with my right. go at whatever pace you like, and I'll follow. you're taking the lead, now, in this dance."

seated as close together as possible, with their other arms curled around each other's waists, they played the melody Alex had written with ease, Andrew humming along. 

when they were done, they stopped for a moment, the last notes hanging in the air.

"now what?" asked Andrew.

Alex glanced at him.

"again."

again, and again, and again, their notes and fingers intertwined long into the night.

**Author's Note:**

> before you ask, no, I am not a pianist. (if you are a pianist, you probably already knew that.) I know just enough to know that I don't know anything. (that, and I took keyboard lessons as a kid. I don't play very well, I don't have the coordination, and my hands are too small to reach well across thumb-to-pinkie. just for the record.)


End file.
